The Hangman’s Plea: End Capital Punishment

Albert Pierrepoint was known as “The Last Hangman” of England. At the beginning of his 25-year career as a hangman, he was proud of his efficiency and effectiveness in this position, but he later became disillusioned and spoke out against capital punishment.

Albert Pierrepoint was a hangman for 25 years before having a change of heart. | Source

Was Albert Pierrepoint England’s “official executioner”?

Albert Pierrepoint (1905-1992) was the longest-serving executioner in England’s history. During almost 25 years as an executioner (from 1932 to 1956), he carried out more than 400 executions and possibly as many as over 600. (The records are sketchy.)

Pierrepoint is sometimes called the “Official Executioner” of England. It is not true. There has never been an official executioner. Hangings were officially carried out by the Sheriff, but the sheriffs did not want to do this duty themselves. Instead, the sheriffs hired a hangman drawn from the official list of approved hangmen kept by the Home Office. The identity of the hangman was kept secret.

Pierrepoint is sometimes called “England’s Last Hangman.” That is not true either. Pierrepoint resigned in 1954. The last hanging in England was carried out in 1964. Capital punishment was abolished in England in 1965.

However, Pierrepoint can claim the title of most prolific hangman in England’s history, conducting more executions than any other hangman. He was also the “official executioner” at the Nuremberg Trials in Germany. In this capacity, he often hung as many as a dozen war criminals in one day.

Capital punishment was abolished in England in 1965.

Execution was the Pierrepoint family business.

Albert Pierrepoint’s father and uncle had been hangmen before him. Albert was eager to follow in their footsteps. Executions, one might say, was the family business.

His primary occupation was as a drayman for a grocery wholesaler. (A drayman was the driver of a horse drawn low flat-bed wagon known as a dray.) In other words, Pierrepoint was a delivery man. The hangings were just a sideline.

Pierrepoint prided himself on his efficiency and efficacy. He performed his duties with cool professionalism and a practiced detachment. He took great pains to keep the suffering of the condemned to a minimum. Most of the time, the execution took only 10 seconds or less.

The prisoner would be escorted to the execution chamber by guards. Pierrepoint would be waiting for him. Without speaking a word, Pierrepoint would quickly secure the prisoner’s hands behind his back, place a hood over his head, place the noose around his neck, and pull the lever that opened the trap door. The prisoner would die of a broken neck within seconds.

Pierrepoint took pride in his skill as an executioner. He carefully calculated the drop, the length of the rope. If the drop was not the correct length, the condemned would slowly strangle to death instead of having a quick death.

Pierrepoint considered the prisoner’s height, weight, and even age to calculate the drop. He seldom botched an execution.

Pierrepoint began to have regrets and turned against capital punishment.

Pierrepoint began to have second thoughts about capital punishment. Perhaps it began at Nuremberg where he conducted so many executions in a short period of time. Perhaps it was when he was called upon to execute a friend, a man who had murdered his girlfriend in a fit of rage. Perhaps it was because his name became public knowledge and this brought unwanted attention. He cringed when people cheered him for his work, and he cringed when people castigated him for his work. Perhaps it was all of these factors that led him to quit.

Whatever the reasons, Pierrepoint suffered great emotional distress. He felt that he was as much a murderer as the people he executed. In his memoirs, Executioner Pierrepoint: An Autobiography, he came out against capital punishment. He wrote

"I do not now believe that any of the hundreds of executions I carried out has in any way acted as a deterrent against future murder. Capital punishment, in my view, achieved nothing except revenge."

Because poetry is such an image-rich and concise form of communication, I think I can best explain Albert Pierrepoint’s change of heart with a poem.

"The Hangman" is poem about Albert Pierrepoint's life as an executioner. | Source

The Hangman: A Poem

Albert Pierrepoint, fulfilled his childhood ambition.

He wanted to be a professional hangman.

Hanging the condemned was a family tradition.

His uncle and father had both plied the same trade.

With a total of more than 600 hangings,

He was England’s most prolific executioner.

From the 1930’s thru the 1950’s—

Almost 25 years—he worked this career.

He calculated height and weight to ascertain

The rope length needed to snap the neck without pain.

Too short, and it was death by slow strangulation;

Too long, and it was death by decapitation.

He dressed in coat and tie to maintain dignity.

He took great care to do his job with speed and skill.

He was quick and silent, and that was his mercy.

His executions were usually flawless.

Although the official witnesses often flinched,

Albert, always stone-faced, never showed emotion.

He was always the consummate professional,

And he took a quiet pride in a job well done.

The prisoner was professionally dispatched,

While Albert remained emotionally detached.

He often said, “It’s not me that is the killer,

The hanging is done by ‘The Executioner.’”

Albert walked into the prison, and Albert walked out,

But “The Executioner” killed the prisoner,

Until the huge death toll suffused his soul with doubt,

And this disassociation no longer worked.

His breaking point was the Nuremberg war crime trials.

Every day for months, he hung twenty souls or more.

Over and over, an assembly line of death.

The sheer numbers became more than he could endure.

Previously, Albert kept his work a secret.

But the military gave him public credit.

To his dismay, some gave him adulation,

While others upset him with their condemnation.

His heart was changed about capital punishment.

He cried out, “I murdered the bloody lot of them.

I killed them all, the guilty and the innocent,

Not in anger, not for passion, but for money.”

His regret made him bitter; he was a broken man.

For years, he had been just a part of the machine,

But as his conscience began to invade his thoughts,

He knew that his acts had been immoral and obscene.

Eventually, he could no longer do it.

For his own health and sanity, he had to quit.

”It’s nothing but revenge,” he began to protest;

The hangman had become an abolitionist.

Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman

This movie is a little masterpiece of acting, writing, and directing. It tells the poignant story of Albert Pierrepoint's life. I watched it because I wanted to understand what it was like to be an executioner. It is a remarkable story.

The belief that capital punishment deters murder is false.

The belief that capital punishment deters the crime of murder is a cruel myth. The United Nations and numerous academics have done research all over the world, and it has been shown time and time again that capital punishment is not a deterrent. For instance, in the U.S., one of the few Western countries that still has capital punishment, the states with the death penalty (such as Texas) have significantly higher homicide rates than states where the death penalty has been abolished.

I did some research and some thinking to try to understand why the myth persists. My conclusion is that people refuse to admit the facts about the death penalty because they have a psychological need for capital punishment. I wrote about it in “Thou Shall Not Kill: The Immorality of the Death Penalty.”

After watching the movie about Pierrepointe’s life, and learning about the toll his association with capital punishment took upon him, I’m especially dismayed when I hear people being enthusiastic about the death penalty. I would hope that anyone who supports the death penalty at least sees it as an unfortunate necessity. However, many appear to like it quite a bit too much.

I wrote a poem about it.

I wrote a poem about to explain the psychological reason for the existence of the death penalty. | Source

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.

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Cross1987

10 months ago

Great article

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Thank you, Mel. I think a lot of people are like you were--pro death penalty because they just had never really thought about it. I hope my writings on the subject will get people to think through the issues. I'm so grateful for your comment.

Mel Carriere

4 years agofrom San Diego California

I used to be pro death penalty until I realized that the crowds gathered outside executions take on a carnival atmosphere. As you have said it is not a deterrent, we do it because we like it, and that enough is reason to outlaw it. In many aspects we are still the untamed wild west here in the US. Great hub and poem.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Thanks for elaborating on your previous comment. It seemed a little snarky to me, but apparently I was wrong. You have added to the discussion with this second comment. Thank you. You have provided information that would not otherwise have been available. And my apologies. I was feeling defensive. Your comment got me to thinking of how tormented Pierrepoint must have been for years before he quit. It has to be hard to repudiate "the family business."

derekchristie

4 years ago

Catherine G.,sadly,my mum passed away in 2002 ,her parents owned a Guest House and when he came to do Executions he always stayed there.She said,he was a solitary figure and sat alone in the evenings reading a Bible in the day room. She struck up a friendship(not romantic) with him(she said she felt sorry for him,his heavy burden was obvious)she had many discussions about his work it seemed he just wanted to talk to get it off his chest,so to speak.Not a lot of difference to your Hub ,You tell the story well as i said ,Excellent Writing....To add..His stay was normally 3 days and he visited if i rem.correctly 11 times and she conversed with him 1-2 hours each evening.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Derekchristie: As you have probably assumed, I did not interview anyone. I relied on interviews done by others and published. Perhaps you can arrange for me to interview your mum and I could then amend this or do a new hub. Pierrepoint wrote an auto biography, but I haven't read it. I relied on published reviews and quotes. I did see the movie, tho. BTW, did your mum tell you anything different from what I have written. I don't think I should quote a third-hand source, but I'm curious.

derekchristie

4 years ago

My Mum knew Albert and told me all of her "in depth"conversations with him.I'm curious which of his friends relatives you interviewed for your research.Thanks....Excellent writing.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Thank you, colorfulone, It's a dirty job and it is a shame someone has to do it. Even hardened prison wardens find it difficult to do executions. I appreciate your comment.

Susie Lehto

4 years agofrom Minnesota

I had not heard of Albert Pierrepoint. To have carried out so many executions it had to have a very deep effect on him. I am glad that he found a way to to turn from his hangman career and become a voice against capital punishment.

This is an interesting and thought provoking article, Catherine.

Cristen Iris

4 years agofrom Boise, Idaho

I'm really glad you drew attention to it. Symbolism is powerful and I need to incorporate it more into my writing. I have a poem I'm going to try to get published that is heavy on symbolism, but outside of poetry I forget to use it. I should work on being less literal in my art. See! This is what comment sections are good for-to discuss, muse and come up with ideas to help strengthen us and our art. I love it! You're awesome. :)

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Good idea Iris. We are killing the tree of life, out society. Thank you for giving me a new one to see the symbolism.

Cristen Iris

4 years agofrom Boise, Idaho

I loved the symbolism. I actually took it a different way too. The gallows and nooses are gone but the tree dies a little inside each time. Capital punishment maims and eventually kills those left behind. We are living trees, why would we allow ourselves to be instruments of death (whether we flip the switch or vote for policies that allow it)? It seems more honoring to bury our loved ones in the shade of our branches than to die with them. (And for those who wonder, I knew someone who was murdered. Nothing will bring her back.)

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Thanks Iris. Now I have to ask if you caught another thing. I used dead trees as a visual metaphor. Did anyone catch that? I thought nooses and gallows were just too graphic. Does the symbolism work? I also used a crow to represent death.

Cristen Iris

4 years agofrom Boise, Idaho

Haha, no. I didn't catch that. I had limited time that day so I skipped reading the comments. Thanks; I love it. :) And no one could ever accuse you of being banal.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Thank you Iris. Your comment shows that you understood my point exactly. It's part of human nature. Civilization is about controlling our "lizard brain" with reason. BTW, did you read the comments? did you catch my sly reference to your hub about the demon of banality?

Cristen Iris

4 years agofrom Boise, Idaho

Great article! The weaving of Pierrepoint's story, your poetry and data from the U.S. is just good writing. Your line about killing by proxy is really compelling. I'm just musing here but I wonder if there is a murderous side to all humans. We intellectually fight it, but it's there. Our intellect controls that proclivity. By supporting the death penalty perhaps we appease our blood lust while intellectually preserving our sense of purity. Regardless, the facts outweigh it all. It's unnecessary. Great writing. Voted up.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Pierrepoint is not alone in his feelings. Prison wardens have reported similar feelings of regret after being involved in only a few executions. It is even hard for me just to research and write on this topic. Thank you MsDora for your comment and support.

Dora Weithers

4 years agofrom The Caribbean

I appreciate your insights on this difficult topic. Pierrepoint may have been very confused at the end of all those hangings. Hope other people understand his conclusion that it was all revenge.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

4 years agofrom Orlando Florida

Thank you so much. Billybuc. I consider HubPages a platform to express my opinions on important matters. I wouldn't want the demon of banality to swallow me up. But I also like to do and red fun essays. HubPages is also a place to entertain others and be entertained.

Bill Holland

4 years agofrom Olympia, WA

A beautiful, powerful way to state your beliefs. Well done. This is what writers do so well. We are the voices of our generation, and your voice rang out loud and clear.

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